If AEG is building an arena in San Diego I think they'd get a team before QC. Houston seems ready to go, and then expand to SD/ARI/ATL whenever their respective arenas are ready.I don't see why 6 divisions of 6 would be so bad. That's enough teams to ensure at least ONE of them is good. Let's add SLC, HOU, QC, and ATL to the mix:
Northwest: SEA, CGY, EDM, VAN, *SLC*, WPG
Southwest: SJ, LA, ANA, LV, PHX, COL
Central: *HOU*, DAL, MIN, CHI, STL, NSH
Northeast: *QC*, MON, OTT, TOR, BOS, BUF
Metro: PIT, PHI, NJ, NYI, NYR, DET
Southeast: *ATL*, FLA, TB, CAR, WSH, CBJ
That looks like a pretty good setup to me! #1 and #2 in each division gets a playoff spot plus two wild cards in each conference.
I do like your 6x6 idea though, especially if it brings a return to a 1v8 type format
Pacific: ANA, LA, SJ, SEA, VGK, *SD*
Mountain: CGY, COL, EDM, VAN, *ARI*, *SLC*
Central: CHI, DAL, MIN, STL, WPG, *HOU*
Atantic: NJ, NYI, NYR, PHI, PIT, WSH
Northeast: BOS, BUF, DET, MTL, TOR, OTT
Southeast: CAR, CBJ, FLA, NSH, TB, *ATL*